WO2013144707A1

WO2013144707A1 - Method and system for engineering of plant information management system

Info

Publication number: WO2013144707A1
Application number: PCT/IB2013/000558
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tarun Mathur; Stefan Zueger; Rashmi MOHAN; Prashant K DESAI
Original assignee: Abb Research Ltd
Priority date: 2012-03-30
Filing date: 2013-03-28
Publication date: 2013-10-03

Abstract

The invention generally relates to a computer implemented engineering framework for implementation in a production plant. The framework comprises a library module that comprises different graphic units as representations of the plant information. The framework comprises an engineering graphical user interface through which a user chooses appropriate graphic units from the library module. Each graphic includes configured plant information and the configured one or more key performance indices. The invention also relates to a method that enables the system of the invention.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENGINEERING OF PLANT

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates generally to plant information management system and more specifically to a computer implemented engineering framework involving graphical representation of units of a plant to facilitate monitoring of the plant.

BACKGROUND

A production plant is a place for manufacture of one or more types of goods generally using a standardized set of processes with the appropriate human resources. To facilitate the entire process of production, a typical plant involves several intermediate units that handle specific tasks. Each unit will have a number of inputs and one or more outputs associated with it. Subsequently, each unit will then process the inputs to provide the corresponding output. The process will typically be monitored using appropriate means to ensure smooth operation by reading corresponding signals associated with the process in consideration. Even a small to medium size plant contains thousands of signals generating data continuously.

Plant Information Management Systems (PIMS) serve as monitoring and reporting tool for the industries used both by plant operators and managers. PIMS gathers data from the plant operations and synthesize into useful information that enable management or operators to take appropriate actions to improve the plant operation or operation procedures.

Each unit and the plant as a whole typically have one or more Key Performance Indices (KPI) that they are measured by. This may include performance indicators such as for example production per working day. One of ordinary skill in the art will immediately recognize that the KPI for a plant will be affected by a variety of the process variables associated with one or more units. Generally, KPI is the focus of attention during plant operation for monitoring purpose, especially by the management and supervisor cadre. It would also become obvious to one skilled in the art that each unit will have its own KPI, which will then feed into the plant KPI. KPIs are derived using signals from equipment monitoring and measuring various facets of the operation using mathematical calculations that can span from simple average, variance functions to complex logically derived expressions. Most of the PIMS allow users to add a KPI programmatically. These calculations for KPIs require proper referencing to the signals to generate meaningful information relevant to the specific plant. Moreover, the interdependency of KPI calculations between units adds to the complexity of configuring such systems. The current practice is to use tools that allow the user to configure the required plant signals and write the equations for KPI calculations for the entire plant or process area under consideration.

Given the size and complexity of the plant information management systems (PIMS), huge efforts are required to configure the signals and calculations for a single application. Therefore, there is a need for an approach and framework that makes engineering quicker, easier, re-usable, scalable and flexible without increasing the complexity along with the size of the application. The size of the application here refers to the number of plant signals and number of KPI to be configured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one aspect, the invention provides a computer implemented engineering framework for a plant for configuring one or more key performance indices, wherein the plant comprises plant information. The computer implemented engineering framework comprises a library module that contains a plurality of graphic units; and an engineering graphical user interface (E-GUI) for selecting a desired set of graphic units from the library module. Each graphic unit from the plurality of graphic units includes configured plant information and configured one or more key performance indices, and where the desired set of graphic units represent a desired plant configuration.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for generating key performance indices for a plant, A method for configuring key performance indices for a plant, wherein the plant comprises plant information, the method comprises configuring plant information and configuring the one or more key performance indices into a plurality of graphic units, providing a library module comprising the plurality of graphic units, and providing an engineering graphical user interface (E-GUI) for selecting a desired set of graphic units from the plurality of graphic units in the library module, wherein the desired set of graphic units represent a desired plant configuration.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a computer program product comprising instructions for the method of the invention.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment of the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows exemplary steps in a flowchart representation of the method of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment of the implementation of the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The definitions provided herein are to facilitate understanding of certain terms used frequently herein and are not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" encompass embodiments having plural referents, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about." Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, the term "plant" means the land, buildings, machinery, apparatus, and fixtures employed in carrying on a trade or an industrial business. The term plant is used to include various types of production and service, such as for example, a cement plant to manufacture cement, a furniture plant for manufacturing furniture items, sugarcane plant for processing sugarcane to produce sugar and related products, power plant for producing electricity, and the like. As noted herein, each plant will further be broken into units to facilitate operation and management of the plant production. For example, a cement plant may comprise the following units: receiving unit, mills, kilns, packaging unit, storage unit, shipping unit, finance, administration unit, and the like. One skilled in the art will also understand that there may be more than one unit present in a given plant. Each of these units have one or more metrics by which their efficiency is measured.

"Plant information" as referred herein includes plant equipment information (manufacturer specification, running condition, maintenance etc.), plant operation information (from sensors, lab analysis etc). From plant information management perspective, according to aspects of the invention, the plant information is segregated either based on "plant unit" or "process variable (energy, production etc)".

As used herein, the phrase "Key Performance Indices", abbreviated as KPI (also referred herein in some aspects as additional KPIs) means the one or more performance metric associated with a plant or a unit of a plant that is generally measured or estimated to be achieved. The KPI may then be used in several ways during operation of the plant, such as for example, setting up the input parameters of each unit, allocating resources for each and every unit, and the like. The KPI estimated and the actual measured KPI may also be used to provide an efficiency of operation of the unit in question or the plant as a whole. One skilled in the art will note that despite the use of the plural form of the phrase, the singular form is also encompassed within the scope of the invention. Further, definitions of KPI for different plants, despite their varied operations and different final products, may be very similar or exactly, especially when considered in their respective mathematical form. For example, a cement plant and a chemical plant may have one of the KPI as production rate, which may be defined as amount produced per unit time, say an hour or a day. "Graphic units" as used herein configure and store the plant information i.e. the segregated information based on either "plant unit" or "process variable (energy, production etc)" . Graphic units also contain configured KPIs useful for plant monitoring. The graphic units are configured to receive real plant (or lab or simulated) measurements and to perform mathematical operations (average, sum etc) on plant information in a preconfigured manner. In one non-limiting example, the configuration allows for averaging the flow measurement for every 15 min and storing the corresponding data in a KPI called "Production". Similarly, in another non-limiting example, the electricity consumption data from plant can be configured to get averaged every 15 min. Further, in another non-limiting example, another KPI called "Electricity Consumption per unit production" is configured that perform some calculations on "average production" and "average electricity consumption" to arrive at the value of new KPI, "Electricity Consumption per unit production".

Further, in yet another example, the configuration is done such that it covers dependencies among various KPIs (as explained above), allowing the output of one KPI as an input into another. Such configurations advantageously enable maximum reuse of these graphic units from one plant to another with minimal changes. For example, the graphic units configurations for one cement plant can be used for another cement plant because of similarity of plant information. A further advantage is that such configuration also allow for fast customization for different projects by allowing new KPIs to be configured based on the existing ones, and the engineering effort and time for configuration is therefore greatly reduced.

One skilled in the art would understand that the examples mentioned herein are non-limiting examples to illustrate the configuration of plant information in the graphic units, and several such configurations are created and stored in the graphic units.

As noted herein, in one aspect the invention provides a computer implemented engineering framework for a plant for configuring one or more KPI. Fig. 1 shows a block diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment of the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention, generally represented by numeral 10. The computer implemented engineering framework comprises a library module provided as a graphical user interface, denoted by numeral 12, that contains a plurality of graphic units within it, represented in Fig. 1 by numeral 14. According to one aspect of the invention, the library modules also stores configured sets of graphic units for further re-use. This lends a modular feature for the graphic units and facilitates scalability and quicker configuration in situations that require same or similar units.

The graphic units are further associated with corresponding ports (not shown in Fig. 1) for receiving plant data that could be the real time plant data, simulated data, or lab data. The ports include tags to input the real time or simulated data once the framework is deployed. This allows for data from the actual units to be updated on the respective graphic unit, which can then be used appropriately as described herein. The data associated with each graphic unit that is inputted in the tags is representative of a defined plant variable or derived variable from the plant. Exemplary plant variables include, but not limited to, consumables, electricity consumption, materials transfer, and the like.

The computer implemented engineering framework of the invention 10 then comprises an engineering graphical user interface shown in Fig. 1 as 16, generally abbreviated as E-GUI in the art. The presence of an E-GUI and providing graphical representation of units of a plant simplifies visualization of the plant for a user. A typical user of such a system is an engineer who is assigned the task of operating the plant, or a supervisor in charge of the unit, or other such plant personnel, and combinations thereof. Other users of this system include, for example, theoreticians, students involved in learning operations and using data from the system for other purposes, consultants providing expert advice for operation of the plant, and so on. The manner of accessing the system by a user is known in the art, and may include, for example, the use of a login and a password. The system may also comprise multiple user levels, wherein user at a certain level is allowed to access certain sets of information. The multiple-user access may be provided simultaneously, to allow concurrent engineering of different aspects of the plant. Thus the GUI and E-GUI are available to multiple users independently to configure different aspects of the plant, and then be integrated into a master E-GUI that incorporates the different configurations into a single graphical user interface i.e. the master E-GUI that can be deployed for plant monitoring or simulation, as the case may be. This allows for simultaneous information processing for a plant without any loss of time and other resources. Given the complexity of operating a plant that involves plurality of units and multiple interdependencies such a bifurcation of tasks in a simultaneous manner allows for simplification of operation and increases efficiency considerably. The framework also allows for seamless integration of all independent configurations by different users made by all the users and display according to the user levels. Exemplary levels of users include administrator, manager, engineer, supervisor, and the like.

The E-GUI is used to select a desired set of graphic units 14 from the library module 12 by the user. The desired set of graphic units represent the desired plant configuration. Thus for example, in a typical operation of the system of the invention, the representative unit that the user is interested in currently, such as for example, mills of a cement plant, is chosen. The choosing may be achieved by any number of methods known in the art, and includes, for example, but not limited to, clicking on the graphical representation using a suitable pointing device such as a mouse, typing the appropriate terms in an appropriate location on the GUI, dragging and dropping the graphical representation using a mouse, and so on. The chosen graphical units in the E-graphical user interface are depicted by numeral 18 in Fig. 1. Further, when there are multiple representations of the same unit that have to be represented, a provision for repetition of a particular action is enabled in the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention. For example, in a cement plant of the example, when multiple mills are present, a particular action of choosing mill is repeated as many number of times as necessary to represent the number of mills. Such repetitions include, for example, copy and paste, dragging and dropping multiple times as necessary, and the like, and combinations thereof. Any required inputs for each or all graphic units may be provided manually by the user for each individual unit or for a group of units simultaneously.

The E-GUI is also used for creating connections between the graphic units based on a layout for the plant by the user. For example, in the exemplary embodiment involving the cement plant, the mills feed into a kiln. This connection is created by the user by appropriately connecting the relevant graphic units, which may be achieved by many ways known in the art, such as dragging the pointing device between the relevant units, or clicking the two units after clicking on a suitable menu button, and so on. The connections are denoted in Fig. 1 by numeral 20. As described herein, the system is capable of allowing for multiple users to access simultaneously, thus allowing users from various units that may be connected to each other directly or indirectly to interact with each other. Any discrepancies involved in mismatch of connections made by two different users or other such errors may be brought to the relevant users' attention immediately. The connections between the graphic units include tags that are placeholders for receiving the real time or simulated input data representative of the corresponding units in the plant. The data for some of the tags may be automatically generated through mathematical manipulation, or a combination of manual and automatic input. The data in an exemplary cement plant may include the amount of input materials from each mill, amount of electricity consumed by the mill, amount of electricity consumed by each kiln, and the like, and combinations thereof.

A processor module, shown in Fig. 1 by numeral 22 is provided, for processing the connections to configure one or more additional key performance indices. One skilled in the art will recognize that by making the connections between the graphic units, the relevant properties for both the selected graphic units are taken into account. In many instances, mathematical manipulations involving computational capabilities may need to be utilized for configuring the graphic units. For example, in some instances, when multiple first units feed into a single subsequent unit, the input for the second unit will be a sum of all the output of all the multiple units. For example, when several mills feed into a single kiln, the combined materials output from all the mills are taken as a material input for the kiln, and hence a summation is required to obtain the input. Similarly, when there is a distribution of output from the first unit to multiple subsequent units, then the input for subsequent units will be the product of division of the total output from the first unit by the number of subsequent units. This computational capability is built into the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention, wherein the system is configured to automatically determine the nature of computation required for a given connection between graphic units. The inputs and outputs from each graphics unit are used to arrive at the additional KPIs.

The manner of estimating the KPI and additional KPIs is known to one skilled in the art, and typically involves the use of mathematical arithmetic using simple algebraic equations, or complex functions. Generally, given the complex nature of plant operation, a given user tends to oversimplify a given situation to enable manual calculation of the KPI/additional KPIs. However, by taking into account all the properties associated with each unit, and taking into account all the units of a plant, using the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention, an accurate and quicker estimation of the KPI/ additional KPIs for the unit and for the plant as a whole may be generated in a facile manner, while ensuring that errors and discrepancies are kept to a minimum. At this juncture, the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention is also capable of identifying any discrepancies between two connected graphic units and bringing such discrepancies to the respective user's attention. This provides a great advantage in being able to resolve any issues associated with each unit and the plant as a whole well ahead of time. This saves an enormous amount of time and resources for the user and the plant.

The computer implemented engineering framework is capable of being used at least for a plant simulation or plant operation or combination thereof. Thus, a dry run for each production operation may be simulated using the system of the invention to ensure smooth operation of the plant while maintaining the productivity levels. Once satisfied with the simulation, the unit and/or the plant is operated with real time data.

One skilled in the art will understand that the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention will involve computational equipment having appropriate capabilities. Some exemplary features that are used to describe the computer that are necessary for operation of the system of the invention include, but not limited to, processor speed, RAM, hard drive, hard drive speed, a monitor with suitable resolution, a pointing device such as a mouse, connectors such universal serial bus (USB), and the like, and combinations thereof. Other capabilities such as communication means may also be included, and this may be achieved through LAN, wireless LAN, phone line, Bluetooth, and the like, and combinations thereof. Other hardware and software capabilities required to enable operation of the system of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art, and is contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.

The computer implemented engineering framework of the invention may be implemented in any production plant that uses KPI. Exemplary production plants include, but not limited to, cement plant, sugarcane processing plant, pulp and paper plant, power plant and the like. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that similar graphic units for one plant may be reused in a facile manner for another plant, even if the two plants are not entirely similar in their respective operations due to the similarity of the KPI definition.

The computer implemented engineering framework of the invention is capable of achieving more efficient, less erroneous, easily scalable and reusable engineering for plant information management systems. The amount of engineering effort is considerably reduced using the system of the invention as described herein. Further, the reduction in engineering effort also results in considerable reduction in the time taken to set up a production unit or a plant on each user's part. The framework may also be configured to incorporate any modifications or expansions for a given unit and/or a plant at any given point. The framework may also be reused at a different plant despite the variations and differences in the production, because, as already noted herein, the definitions associated with the KPI and other data remain very similar. The computer implemented engineering framework of the invention can also be deployed as an upgrade to an existing installation in a given production plant.

In another aspect, the invention provides graphical user interface and the E-graphical user interface as explained herein above for use in a plant for monitoring purpose or for simulation purpose or research purpose.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method for configuring key performance indices for a plant as utilized by the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention. The method of the invention is shown in Fig. 2 denoted by numeral 24 in a flowchart representation having exemplary steps. The method comprises providing or creating at step 26, multiple graphic units with configured plant information and configured KPIs, providing a library module, represented by numeral 28, that comprises multiple graphic units. The method then involves selecting a desired set of graphic units from the library module using an engineering graphical user interface (E-GUI), shown in Fig. 2 by numeral 30. The graphic units include ports that are used for receiving real time plant data, or simulated data or lab data. The method further comprises at step 32 creating connections between the graphic units based on a layout for the plant on the E-GUI. The method further comprises processing the connections to configure additional key performance indices using appropriate mathematical computations as necessary, as shown in Fig. 2 by numeral 34. Under operation, the method further includes a step 36 receiving real time or simulated data into the tags associated with the ports, wherein the tags are placeholders for receiving plant data, which includes historical data and real time data, simulated data and other parameters associated with each units. Finally at step 38, values corresponding to KPIs and additional KPIs are generated that are used for plant monitoring and related purpose.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a computer program product comprising instructions for the method of the invention to configure and generate KPI/ additional KPIs for a plant or a unit thereof. Fig. 3 depicts one exemplary embodiment of implementation of the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention in an existing plant. An engineering framework, shown in Fig. 3 by numeral 40 comprising the library module and the engineering graphical interface is provided. As mentioned herein multiple users have independent E-GUIs to facilitate concurrent engineering. This is then linked through an interface 42, that could be a master interface, to a Plant Information Management Systems 44, generally abbreviated in the art as PIMS. The PIMS 44, in the exemplary embodiment, comprises a database 46 that in turn comprises data related to the unit and/or the plant. The data may be input from at least one of plant control system, manual entries, laboratory instruments, automatically uploaded from an existing alternate database, and the like, and combinations thereof. The data is used to calculate the pre-configured KPIs/ additional KPIs using an application engine 48. The results may then be displayed to the users in one or more formats such as graphs, tables etc. through the GUI 50. The interface 42 is configured to be able to compile information from symbolic representation by the users through the GUI into the required format to be updated in database 46. This interface 42 integration with database 46 should result in automatic generation of required signals and calculations in the application engine 48.

The engineering framework 40 may comprise pre-configured multiple model libraries in a modeling environment, such that various models for process equipment or process areas can be instantiated upon initiation of the engineering framework 40. These models can be connected to each other through appropriate process variables such as material, energy or information flow connections. The model instantiation, through drag and drop from model library, may be desirably configured to automatically generate KPI/additional KPIs for that particular process equipment or process area. This data or information flow among the models will be used to generate intermediate calculations used to derive the desired KPI/ additional KPIs in other models as well. The junctions or nodes created through connections are also used to generate KPI/ additional KPIs like average total flow or average total production etc. Such KPI/ additional KPIs that are generally overlooked by the engineers but will be useful for the plant for auditing purpose may also be made available in a facile manner using the computer implemented engineering framework of the invention as described herein.

In a similar manner, multiple engineering frameworks may be linked to the PIMS through the interface to facilitate operation of the plant. Each engineering framework may utilize one or more models for its given environment, and all the models are taken into account while generating KPI/ additional KPIs for each unit and for the plant. Each engineering framework may be accessed by separate users simultaneously, alternately, each engineering framework may be accessed sequentially by one or more users.

The system using the engineering framework as described herein is capable of higher levels of efficiency, while being less prone to errors. Further, such systems are easily scalable during expansions of a plant to incorporate increase in production. Also, as stated herein, the engineering framework of the system can be reused from one plant to another plant by simple integration with an existing PIMS because, as described herein, the mathematical definitions of KPI/ additional KPIs largely remain very similar, and hence simple modifications will be required for adoption. All of these results in considerable reduction in engineering efforts and time used to set up a plant.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A computer implemented engineering framework for a plant for configuring one or more key performance indices, wherein the plant comprises plant information, the computer implemented engineering framework comprising: a library module comprising a plurality of graphic units; and an engineering graphical user interface (E-GUI) for selecting a desired set of graphic units from the library module, wherein each graphic unit from the plurality of graphic units comprises:

configured plant information and configured one or more key

performance indices, and wherein the desired set of graphic units represent a desired plant configuration.

2. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of graphic units comprise a plurality of corresponding ports with tags for receiving plant data.

3. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 2 wherein the plant data is a representative of a defined variable or a derived variable for the plant or combinations thereof.

4. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 1 wherein the E- GUI comprises connections between the plurality of graphic units based on a layout for the plant.

5. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 4 further

comprising a processor for processing the data representative of the connections to configure the additional one or more key performance indices.

6. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 1 wherein the E- GUI is used at least for a plant simulation or plant monitoring or combination thereof.

7. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 1 wherein the library module comprises one or more re-usable sets of graphic units.

8. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 1 wherein the library module and the E-GUI are accessed independently by more than one user.

9. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 8 wherein the more than one users concurrently select the graphic units from the library module to represent different sections of the plant.

10. The computer implemented engineering framework of claim 9 wherein the different sections are integrated into a single graphical user interface for the plant.

11. A method for configuring key performance indices for a plant, wherein the plant comprises plant information, the method comprising: configuring plant information and the one or more key performance indices into a plurality of graphic units; providing a library module comprising the plurality of graphic units; and providing an engineering graphical user interface (E-GUI) for selecting a desired set of graphic units from the plurality of graphic units in the library module, wherein the desired set of graphic units represent a desired plant configuration.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality of graphic units

comprise a plurality of corresponding ports with tags for receiving plant data.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the plant data is a representative of a defined variable or a derived variable for the plant or combinations thereof.

The method of claim 11 further comprising creating connections between the graphic units on the E-GUI based on a layout for the plant.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising processing the connections for configuring additional one or more key performance indices

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the library module comprises one or more re-usable sets of graphic units.

17. The method of claim 11 further comprising accessing the E-GUI independently by more than one user.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the more than one users concurrently select the graphic units from the library module to represent different sections of the plant.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the different sections are integrated into a single graphical user interface for the plant.

20. A computer program product comprising instructions for the method of claim 11.